Electrostatic precipitator room air cleaners are desirable since they effectively and efficiently remove smoke, pollen, dust and other airborne particulates while they require no filter replacement. Generally speaking, the greater their total collector plate area is, the bigger the clean air delivery rate provided, and the larger is the room area that may be serviced thereby.
Commonly positioned in living rooms, offices and other living or working areas, electrostatic room air cleaners need to fit in, or at least not clash with, the general aesthetic or look and feel of the use environment. For a typically sized two hundred thirty (230) square-foot room, a clean air delivery rate of about one hundred fifty (150) is needed.
The heretofore known electrostatic precipitator room air cleaners typically traded performance against appearance. On the one hand, electrostatic precipitator room air cleaners with tower designs having small footprints (or other desirable profiles) tended to provide less than sufficient clean air delivery rates, requiring the use of several such units to service typically sized rooms. The use of multiple units undesirably adds to general room clutter and multiplies expense. On the other hand, single electrostatic room air cleaners having the larger collector plate areas needed to service rooms of typical size often involved aesthetically undesirable box or other bulky designs that may be too costly for the average consumer. Moreover, the larger collector plates needed to service rooms of typical size tended to be difficult to handle, clean and replace during routine maintenance.
There is thus a need for a readily serviceable electrostatic precipitator type room air cleaner affordable by the average consumer having a tower or other desirable profile servicing rooms of typical size.